Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] has the potential to address food and nutrition insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the nutrient content of taro is yet to be fully elucidated. The objective of this study was to evaluate mineral element content as a proxy for nutritional value of different taro genotypes. The study evaluated 14 taro accessions at Roodeplaat and Umbumbulu in South Africa based on their calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), sodium (Na), phosphorous (P) and zinc (Zn) content. The accessions were planted in a randomized complete block design, replicated three times under field conditions. The mineral element content varied significantly (p < 0.05) among the genotypes. Genotypes Amad7-2, Umbu8 and Amad101 exhibited high Ca (≥432 mg kg⁻¹), Fe (≥32 mg kg⁻¹) and Mg (≥229 mg kg⁻¹) across the locations. The first principal component (PC) accounted for 33.7% of the variation and was strongly associated with Zn (r = 0.94, p < 0.001) and P (r = 0.89, p < 0.001). The second PC explained 29.7% of the variation and was associated with Na (r = 0.83, p < 0.001), Mg (r = 0.76, p < 0.001) and K (r = 0.55, p < 0.05). Fe and Mn contributed below the 12.5% threshold to the PCs and were considered as less discriminatory among the accessions. The negative correlations among some of the mineral elements would be a challenge for selection and breeding of nutritious taro accessions. This information is essential to select superior local accessions based on their mineral element content for developing breeding populations and lines for improving nutrition quality among poor households in sub-Saharan Africa.

Taro [ Colocasia esculenta（L.）Schott]有潜力解决撒哈拉以南非洲的粮食和营养不安全问题。但是，芋头的营养成分尚未完全阐明。这项研究的目的是评估矿物质元素含量，以替代不同芋头基因型的营养价值。这项研究根据南非的Roodeplaat和Umbumbulu的14种芋头种质进行了评估，基于它们的钙（Ca），铁（Fe），钾（K），镁（Mg），锰（Mn），钠（Na），磷（P）和锌（Zn）含量。将这些种以随机完整块设计种植，在田间条件下重复3次。不同基因型之间的矿质元素含量差异显着（p <0.05）。基因型Amad7-2，Umbu8和Amad101表现出高Ca（≥432mg kg ^-1），Fe（≥32mg kg ^-1）和Mg（≥229mg kg ^-1）。第一主成分（PC）占变异的33.7％，与Zn（r = 0.94，p <0.001）和P（r = 0.89，p <0.001）密切相关。第二台PC解释了29.7％的变化，并与Na（r = 0.83，p <0.001），Mg（r = 0.76，p <0.001）和K（r = 0.55，p <0.05）相关。Fe和Mn对PC的贡献低于12.5％的阈值，并且被认为在种质之间的歧视性较小。某些矿质元素之间的负相关性将是营养芋头种质选择和育种的挑战。该信息对于根据其矿质元素含量选择优质的本地种质是至关重要的，以发展撒哈拉以南非洲贫困家庭的育种种群和品系，以改善其营养质量。